


Fortis Manes

by Nemesis01



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Romance, Emotional, Love Triangles, M/M, Melancholy, Unhappy Ending, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24424108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemesis01/pseuds/Nemesis01
Summary: Scorpius is an Auror and works closely with Harry Potter. He is in love with Albus who however has an affair with another guy. And then there is James, a budding singer and manager of one of the most popular pubs in the Magic World that carries the weight of an unrequited love. Their lives (messed up, complex, clumsy) are connected by many quibbles that, once revealed, will melt the skein.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/James Sirius Potter
Kudos: 2





	Fortis Manes

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Fortis anestesia](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/729078) by Nemesis. 



Harry Potter put the empty mug on his desk and, although it was late at night, he thought that it would take two more hours to finish his shift at the Ministry of Magic.  
After thirty years of honored career, he had been promoted to "Head of the Auror Department"; this new position had allowed him a more peaceful and at the same time boring lifestyle. He was not the type of paperwork or logical reasoning, to which he much preferred the action, the one that made him finish at San Mungo with some limb to be rebuilt, but he had not been able to refuse the proposal of the Prime Minister, Kingsley Shackelbot, so he found himself inundated with huge files that he really had to take a look at.  
He put his round glasses on his nose, since they had slipped, and grabbed the folder on the top of the pile. There had been several thefts in the pubs of the Magic World and the first file examined concerned one of these; in particular he referred to a place whose name sounded familiar to him: "The Wizard Pandemonium".  
Why did he remember that name?  
He tried to dig into the maze of memory without any result; he felt sleepy, despite the caffeine he had just taken.  
He read the report of the Aurors who had come and slapped his forehead as he noticed that the signature of James Sirius Potter was written on the bottom of the sheet, as he was the manager of the pub.  
He hadn't heard from his son for a month. After school, his eldest son had taken home in Clapham Junction, a small suburb of Muggle London, which he maintained thanks to his job as the owner of the club where he occasionally performed with his band.  
It was during one of his concerts that a wizard broke into with some enchanted smoke bombs and, in doing so, they took away half the cash. James had risked having to close but fortunately Malfoy, who was there as a customer, had managed to block the thieves by returning the stolen goods to The Wizard Pandemonium.

The hiring of Scorpius had been made in conjunction with his promotion and Harry had been very upset, at least at the beginning, about that unexpected and unexpected arrival. Not so much because he was a former Slytherin, nor because of his impeccable school career, but because of the name he carried with him: Malfoy.  
After the Magic War, in fact, the Malfoys had tried to improve their reputation and had got away with a fine, but they had never been able to do it completely. Narcissa, who had never received the Black Mark, got away with it, while Draco and Lucius had spent a few months in Azkaban, despite claiming to have been threatened and cursed by the Dark Lord.  
Harry had never liked those Malfoy cowards but had to admit that Scorpius had always been different from his family. During the school years he became close friend with his son Albus, so much so that the boy had spent almost all the Christmas holidays with them. Harry had pondered the idea that Draco could have been a better wizard if he had been given other priorities by his family; fortunately, Scorpius had been saved.

The Head of the Auror Department put the folder on the desk and took off his glasses to massage his forehead: all that thinking and conjecturing was giving him headache. Suddenly, however, someone knocked on the office door breaking the quiet.  
\- Come on in, - said the man, inviting anyone else who was still in the office to come in at that hour.  
\- Good evening, Mr. Potter, - he said. Not even on purpose, Scorpius had peeked into his office.  
\- Oh, good evening Scorpius! What are you still doing here? -  
\- I think I just finished, sir. I came to give you the latest report on the "Three broomsticks" issue... -  
\- What happened? -  
\- Nothing to worry about... a fight broke out and Langley and I intervened. -  
\- Where is he now? -  
\- Well, when we got back he said he wasn't feeling too well, so I offered to stay here and fill out the necessary forms and... here I am! -  
\- Oh very good. Thanks Scorpius, you are impeccable as always. -  
\- Thank you Mr. Potter, - said the boy, bowing his head in a gesture of respect, - if there is nothing else to do, I... -  
\- Oh yes, go ahead boy. Good evening! -  
\- Good night, maybe! -  
\- Good night? Come on, you're so young and are you already going to sleep? -  
\- I've been in the office well past midnight for three days, Mr. Potter. In all honesty, at the moment my greatest perversion is made up of a cozy bed and a nice soft duvet. -  
Harry laughed and shook his head slightly, - Say hello to Albus, then. -  
\- If he is still awake I will certainly do so, - replied the boy smiling. Finally, he greeted the man with a reverent nod before closing the door behind him.

***

When Teddy had moved on leaving England behind he had asked Albus to take care of his two-room apartment. The second of the Potter had accepted willingly but, despite the trainee's salary at San Mungo, he could not manage all the expenses that that apartment entailed and had talked with his best friend, Scorpius H. Malfoy, about the idea of subletting the other room of the property. The boy had jumped at the quaffle and proposed himself as a roommate; so, for about a couple of months, the two had started sharing the house and related expenses.

Since it was a really late hour, Scorpius had entered on tiptoe, completely in the dark, to avoid making noises and waking up his roommate. He took off his cloak and heavy boots, putting both things in the closet at the entrance, when suddenly the light came on.  
\- Oh, welcome back! -  
\- Hi Al! Your father greets you. -  
\- Er, okay. -  
\- How come you still awake? -  
\- I'm not very sleepy and I was going to prepare a relaxing tea... do you want one too? -  
\- I'd like to go for a shower but I admit I would like it. -  
\- Then go to wash first, in the meantime I'll prepare the infusion. -  
\- OK thanks! -  
Scorpius smiled kindly and went to his room with the intention of undressing before washing.  
\- How did it go today? -  
\- Well, Drake and I stopped a fight at "The Three Broomsticks", but he didn't stay for the record: he said he wasn't feeling too well. -  
\- How was he not feeling well? Is he sick? He didn't tell me anything! -  
\- I think he got some magical influence, something like that, or he was sleepy. -  
\- I have to write him an owl immediately! -  
\- What is it, do you want to play the healer and the sick person? - Scorpius taunted him.  
\- Jerk! -  
\- I was kidding! Look, I'm going to take a shower and then tell me what you did beautiful today, okay? -  
\- It's fine. -  
Albus, waiting for the return of his friend, had started shredding and pounding some medicinal herbs in order to prepare a tranquilizing herbal tea. Once this was done he put the water to heat and brooded that it was strange that Drake had not warned him of that illness  
\- Mh, what a perfume! -  
Scorpius, after twenty minutes, reached the kitchen, or rather the common space that contained a kitchenette; he wore the usual emerald green pajamas and smelled of vanilla and pink pepper: a sweet and sour perfume, just like him.  
\- Who knows if it's edible ... -  
\- I hope you don't say this to your patients because, I warn you, you are not encouraging. -  
\- To them I say "it is the remedy you need"! -  
\- ...you should improve your communication skills, Al. -  
\- Drink and shut up, - Albus warned him in extending the steaming cup.  
Malfoy held the mug in his hands, warming his fingers, and went to sit on the soft blue sofa that was next to the window.  
He covered himself with the gray plaid he usually placed on the sofa and crossed his legs, sipping herbal tea.  
\- Well, it's not bad. Maybe just a little bitter... -  
\- Do you need some sugar? -  
\- No, don't worry... that's okay for me! -  
Albus smiled at him and went to sit next to his friend, tucking his legs under his own plaid. They remained silent for minutes, enjoying that moment of peace.

Scorpius noticed that his friend had finally learned to live with tarnished glasses and for this he grinned; he had known him for many years and, before that one bedroom apartment, they had also shared the dormitory. He had learned many things about the boy's introverted personality and knew how to read his mind without resorting to magic.  
\- You'll see that he didn't say anything to you so you wouldn't worry,- he assured him.  
Albus, on the other hand, had resigned himself to being an open book for the other boy and sighed bitterly, - I know, but he could have warned me... also because he said it to you and knows that we are friends and we say everything to each other. -  
\- That's exactly why it wouldn't make sense to hide something from you by telling it to me, would it? -  
\- He's an ex Gryffindor, he doesn't think about these things. -  
Scorpius chuckled at that sentence and took another sip from the cup: the herbal tea was truly disgusting, like everything that Albus used to cook and that he insisted on eating, or drinking, so as not to make him sorry.  
\- And speaking of ex Gryffindors... - continued Potter, - tomorrow James returns from a concert in Bulgaria and I would like to invite him to dinner. Do you mind? -  
\- Joking? We have a VIP in the house, I have to get four or five autographs to give as gifts, - laughed Scorpius.  
\- Idiot, I'm serious! -  
\- You know, you can invite who and when you want. In fact, why don't you invite Drake too? So you have an excuse to also write something nice to him outside of the shrimp you will send him, - he suggested.  
Albus brightened at that thought and nodded suddenly.  
\- What are you going to do tomorrow? -  
\- I will be at the Ministry only in the morning, barring unforeseen circumstances. And you? -  
\- I should finish by five in the afternoon, barring unforeseen circumstances. -  
The two exchanged a look and burst out laughing immediately afterwards.  
\- When did we stop being two kids to become two businessmen? -  
\- Speak for yourself, Al, I'm still a bold young man, - pretended to scold the other.  
\- Okay, Auror, don't arrest me for the trick! -  
\- Just this time, next time I won't be so forgiving! -  
\- I'll tell them to come by six, okay? -  
\- Perfect! -


End file.
